Composer

:

Henryk Mikolaj Górecki

Genre

:

Symphony

Style

:

Symphony

Compose Date

:

1976

Average_duration

:

51:54

Movement_count

:

3

Movement ....

Henryk Mikolaj Górecki's Symphony No. 3, Op. 36, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, is a three-movement symphony that premiered on April 4, 1977, in Katowice, Poland. The symphony is scored for soprano soloist, orchestra, and choir, and is one of the most popular and widely performed contemporary classical works. The first movement, Lento - Sostenuto tranquillo ma cantabile, is based on a 15th-century Polish lament, "Holy Cross Lament," which was discovered by Górecki in the library of the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa. The movement is characterized by its slow, mournful melody, which is repeated and developed throughout the movement. The soprano soloist sings a text that is a prayer to the Virgin Mary, written by a young girl who was imprisoned in Auschwitz during World War II. The second movement, Lento e largo - Tranquillissimo, is based on a message that was written on the wall of a Gestapo cell in Zakopane, Poland, by an 18-year-old girl named Helena Wanda Blazusiakówna. The message reads, "No, Mother, do not weep. Most chaste Queen of Heaven, support me always." The movement is characterized by its slow, meditative pace and its use of long, sustained chords in the orchestra. The third movement, Lento - Cantabile-semplice, is based on a Silesian folk song that Górecki heard as a child. The movement is characterized by its simple, folk-like melody, which is sung by the soprano soloist. The text of the song is a mother's lament for her son, who has been taken away to war. The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is a deeply emotional work that reflects on the tragedies of war and the human experience of loss and grief. Górecki's use of simple, repetitive melodies and his incorporation of traditional Polish music give the symphony a timeless quality that has resonated with audiences around the world.

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